News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-01-13

| Aoh s4OCpN al db OnCS anu COulOH
keep my eyes open. The next thing
knew Otis was nudgin' me in the ribs.
| Get up, Joel, says he; its Christmas
an Santa Claus has been here"
Merry Christmas! Merry Chris'm !.
we cried as we tumbled out of bed.
Then Elvira and Thankful came in, not
more'n half dressed and Susan came in,
too, an we Just made Rome howl with
merry Christmas = to each other. Ef YOU
children don't make less noise in there,
cried father, 'I'll hev to send you all
| back to bed' The idea of askin' boys
an girls to keep quiet on Christmas
mornin' when they've got new sleds an
'Garlands of Friendshipr"
Santa Claus chuckled; his rosy cheeks
fairly beemed with JOY.
Otis an didn't want any breakfast,
said Joel eve made up our minds
that stockin' full of candy an popcorn
an raisins would stav for us awhile. |
do believe there wasn't buckwheat cakes
enough in the township to keep US IN
doors that mornIn'; buckwheat cakes
don't size up much 'longside of ared
sled with Yankee Doodle painted onto
it and black sled named Snow Queen.
We didn't care how cold it was-so
much the better for slidin' down hill!
All the boys had new sleds--Lafe Daw-
son, Holbrook Bill, Gum Adams, Rube
Playford, Leander Merrick, Ezra Purple
all on 'em had new sleds excep' Mar
tin Peavey, and he said he calculated
Santa Claus had skipped him this year
cause his father had broke his leg haul
in logs from the Pelham woods and
been KEEP indoors six weeks. But Mar
tin had his OF sled and he didn't hev to
ask any odds of any of us, neither"
81 brought Martin a sled the next
Christmas" said Santa Claus.
'Like's not; but did ycu ever slide
down hill, Santa CLAUSE don't mean
such hills as they hev out here IN this
new country, but one of these old-fash-
ioned New England hills that was made
specially for boys to slide down-full
of bumpers an thank We -marms, and al
mos took our breath away. Merry
Christmas to We, little boysn it seemed
to say, and united our mufiers an
whirled the snow in our faces, just as if
it was a boy too, an wanted to play
with US, An OF crow came happin over
us from the cornfeld beyond the mea-
dow. He said: 'Caw, caw,' when he
saw my sled; l s'pose he'd never seen a
red one before. Otis had hard time
with his sled-the black one-an' he
wondered why it wouldn't go as fast as
mine would.
'Hev you scraped the paint off'n the
"Course I hev,' said Otis; broke. my
g.
it, but it don't seem to make no differ
ence-the darned OF thing wont gOr
Then, what did Simon Buzzle say but
that, likes not, it was because Otis's
sled's name was Snow Queen Never
did see a girl sled that was worth a cent,
sez Simon. Well, now, that
Jest about broke Otis up IN business.
1T amt a girl sled,' sez he, 'and its
name amt Snow Queen! Tn a-goin' to
call it DanI Webster, or Oliver Optic, |
1r Sheriff Robbins, or after some other |
pig manp An the boys plagued him so |
much about that pesky girl sled that he
cratched off the name, an, as l remem-
er. it did go better after that!
ssAbout the only thinw,'' continued |
oel, that marred the harmony of the
occasion, as the editor of the Hampshire |
county Phoenix used to say, was the |
ashes that Decon Morris Frisbie sprinlll- |
ed out in front of his no ise. He said |
he wasn't going to have folks breakin'
their necks Jest on account of a lot of
frivolous boys that was going to the
gallows as fas' as they couldl Oh, how
we hated him. and we'd've snowballed
him, too, if we hadn't been afraid of the
constable that lived next door,. But the
ashes didn't bother US much, and every
time we slid side-saddle we'd give the
ashes kick, and that sort O. scattered
'em"
The bare thought of this made Santa
Claus laugh.
"Goin' on bout 9 O'clock, > said Joel,
'tthe girls come aTong-Sister Elvira an
Thankful, Prudence Tuckr, Belle Yocum,
Sophrone Holbrook, Sis Hubbard an
Marthy Sawyer Marthy's brother In
crease wanted her to ride on his sled,
but Marthy allowed that a red sled was
her choice every time. Il don't see how
I'm Ding to hold on said Marthy;
seems as if I would hev my hands full
keepin' my things from blown away
Don't worry about yourself, Martha
sez /, for if you look after your things
l kind O calc late I'll manage not to,
lose you on the way
Dear Marthy-seems as if I could see
you now, with your tangled hair blow
in in the wind, your eyes all bright and
sparklin' an your cheeks as red as
apples. Seems, too, as if l could hear
you laughin' aud callin', iIst as you did
as toiled up the old New England hill
that Christmas mOrning'--a-callin' Joel,
Joel, Joel! Amt ye ever comm, Joel?'
But the hill is long an steep, Mar by,
an Joel aint the boy he used to be he's
old an gray an feeble, but there's love
an faith in his heart, an they kind O.
keep him totterin' towards the vo ce he
hears a-callin' Joel, joel, Joeln
Il know-I see it all, " murmured
Santa Claus very softly. @
''Oh, that-was so long ago" sighed
Joel; $50 very long ago! And I've had
no Christmas since 4only once, when
our little one Marthy's an mine-you
him, Santa Clause" -
eyes" said Santa Claus, a toddling
little boy with blue eyes"
Like his mother" interrupted Joel
''an' he was like her, too gentle an
lovin', only we called him Joel, for that
was my fathers name, and it kind o, |
run in the family. He WANT more'n |
three years old when you came with
your Christmas presents for him, Santa |
Claus. We had told him about you, an |
le used to go to the chimney every
light and make a little prayer about
Bhat he wanted you to bring him. And
Tou brought 'em, too-a stick horse, an
| picture book, an some blocks an al
thavy1ra h, cLoI -, L. i
here, and his little Christmas st0ckinfI
with 'em -Tve saved 'em al an I've,
aiken 'em down an held EN- in my7
lands; eh, many tiHes!n
''But when came again, y said Santa,
Claus .,.1
ellis little bed was empty, an wass'I
lone. 1t killed bis mother AIarthF:3i
vas so tender hearted; she kind O.
lrooped and pined after that, So now
hey've been asleep side by side i'll the
1uryin' ground these thirty years.
That's why I'm so sad like whenever
Christmas comes, " said Joel, after q
pause. "The thinkin' OF long ago makes
ne bitter almost. It's so different from .
what 1t used to be. "
mo, Joer; oh, o,7..aaid Santa CLAUS;
tits the same world, and human nature |
IS the same, and always will be. But
Christmas is for the little folks, and you,
who are old and grizzled now, must |
know it and love it only through the
gladness it brings the little ones"
''True," groaned Joel; "but how may
know and feel this gladness when l
have-no little stocking hanging in my
corner?-no child to please me
with his prattIe2 See, am alone"